If I am being honest I am participating in the 23 Things as a requirement. After looking through the overview, I was underwhelmed by the topics we are to discover as I am already extremely familiar with them.
Although I know the 23 things well, I certainly do not claim to have mastered their use in the classroom environment. My first blog was created for my fourth grade classroom in 2008. During the 08/09 school year I used that blog far more effectively than any subsequent year. Could it be that the novelty outweighed the actual educational impact? I'm uncertain as to exactly why I seemed to have used the tool less and less since its creation.
I have a small amount of hope to learn how 2.0 tools can be used more effectively in the classroom through the 23 Things. My fear is that this program is meant for the technologically illiterate and I speak tech fluently.
Q. What new insights did you have during Thing 1?
In the Steve Hargadon article he discusses the "new web or web 2.0" as being the future of education. I agree with the notion that web 2.0 is a powerful tool and important for educators to understand, but the idea that this is "new" is incorrect. Web 2.0 has been around for the better part of a decade. MySpace was widely popular in 2005 for example. The Hargadon article itself was published nearly 4 years ago only months before my first classroom related blog was first used. Web 2.0 has been around, but isn't making the impact that it could or perhaps should.
Q. How does writing on the Internet, knowing anyone could read it, change how you write or feel about writing?
What you say on the Internet depends greatly on whether or not it is being typed with anonymity. When my writing is attached to my actual identity, I'm far more careful about grammar, stating controversial opinions, and so on. Nothing actually goes away when it is online. I've heard many horror stories about people not getting jobs because of their Facebook profile activity and results of simple Google searches. I wonder in the 2032 presidential election if we will be criticizing a candidate about a MySpace picture from 25 years earlier.
Although the design of the 23 Things is intended for the "newb", I'm sure you will find some applications that will help you use these tools in the classroom more effectively. I went through the program in it's first year, when I first started teaching computers. I was barely in the Web 2.0 game. I discovered a few tools and embraced them. Google was such a great experience and I have built my online world around their applications. As I revisited the 23 Things 5 years later, I found there were tools that I didn't pay as much attention to and realized there is a use for them in my classroom.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, going through this will help you discover some uses of tools that you hadn't thought about. Good luck on your journey.
It's refreshing to see your candor as you answered this question. I also did 23 Things in its first year and was a tad frustrated by being compelled to do it again - especially frustrated by the timing. I have found some new content and am, for the most part, enjoying revisiting the program.
ReplyDeleteWhile I am skeptical about the program and lack the time needed for completing I do hope it sheds some new light on tools available to me that will make my teaching life easier. Technology is at times frustrating but intriguing to me.
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